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Original poster

WWYD - which house???

51 replies

PerditaMacleod · 13/01/2021 11:03

Don't know what to do! We are under offer and this week we have had an offer accepted on a property to buy, which was the only thing around that was suitable....until yesterday.

There is a house that was on the market a couple of months ago, and we were interested but not under offer at that point. It has just become available again and we're going to see it today. The sale has fallen through for reasons relating to buyers finances according to the EA, nothing house related.

Which one would you pick?

House 1 (the house we've already offered on) is 575k, house 2 is on for OIEO 550k.
Both around the same size
Not much difference in distance to town or nursery/school
House 1 has no chain (seller claims she's not buying anything), house 2's sellers are buying a new build, need to find out when that will be finished
House 1 has a big, quite private, south facing garden that needs work, house 2 has a north facing, well-maintained but smaller garden
In House 1 we'll need to knock through a wall to make a kitchen diner, and an old conservatory will have to be dealt with at some point - not urgent
In house 2 we could knock through a wall to make a kitchen diner but not so necessary as you can get a small table in the kitchen
House 1's garage has already been converted, house 2's garage is still a garage but could be easily converted at some point
House 2's bathrooms I suspect will need redoing sooner
House 2 is maybe a bit less private, garden maybe slightly overlooked, and also is on the end of a cul de sac adjacent to a main road into an estate so would have more people walking right past - not sure if I should be concerned about security.
House 1 has MASSES of storage, house 2 not as good.
Something in me feels like house 1 will be better for the long term and we would probably never need to move again and will be versatile as the children grow up, not sure if it this will be the case for house 2.

In other respects, they're not too dissimilar. Not sure what our chances are of beating the stamp duty deadline for either property. Hoping my heart will decide for me when we see house 2 today but probably also need to be a bit pragmatic!

OP posts:
Original poster
PerditaMacleod · 13/01/2021 11:35

@HeddaGarbled the price isn't a huge issue. But it is cheaper for the same amount of space, and internal space is more important to me than how big the garden is.

OP posts:
Mum5net · 13/01/2021 12:09

Sunshine changes so much. Does House 1 have large windows that let in lovely light?
There hopefully will come a point where you will be financially better off and have House 1 knocked into shape with the garden managed and the conservatory and kitchen stream lined. A couple of weekends spent with black bin bags clearing away garden debris and chucking out might make it instantly better. A bigger garden might in years to come give space for a ‘escape cave’ , or space for growing veg, for an extra patio, keeping chickens... all huge positives in an area where gardens tend to be smaller.
Outdoor space is a tremendous asset if you can make it suit your needs

Kisskiss · 13/01/2021 12:14

It’s ok to change your mind on house 1, it’s still really early so don’t krt be the reason you don’t switch
HoWEVER house 1 seems a lot better ( in your own description) and house 2 is OIEO 550, so 550 is at the moment the lowest they would consider, not sure the 25k price difference you think is there, is really there

Original poster
PerditaMacleod · 13/01/2021 12:20

Wise words, thanks @Mum5net. I was thinking about something we could put in the garden in future, whether a home office or annexe or teenager cave, once we get to that stage. House 2 definitely wouldn't have that option.

Thanks everyone for opinions, hopefully I won't fall in love with house 2 and we can rule it out later.

OP posts:
bilbodog · 13/01/2021 12:34

We need links to see the houses - not that im nosey or anything!

House 1 sounds better....

Chambored · 13/01/2021 12:41

House 1 from everything you’ve said.
And as others have said House 2 is OIEO of £550, so in all likelihood you’re not going to be saving £25k.
Report back after the viewing though!
Or post links....

Original poster
PerditaMacleod · 13/01/2021 12:52

Oooh I am tempted to post links, but imagine if one of the sellers saw it!! I don't think it would look good to either of them! Everyone I've shown the details to has said they prefer house 2...

No, it's not certain that it would be a 25k saving, but i would hope so, the sellers of house 2 are probably a bit desperate with their chain collapsing and the sale was in quite an advanced position! So would hope for a good deal Grin

OP posts:
Londongent · 13/01/2021 12:55

House 1 sounds so much better that I wouldn't even bother viewing house 2

user1493413286 · 13/01/2021 12:58

House 1 sounds far better; also new builds can get quite delayed (ours did) and even more in covid times so it might not move as quickly as you want if they’re still building it.

keyworkersarepeopletoo · 13/01/2021 13:20

House 2

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 13/01/2021 13:27

House 1

By the time you have paid for the garage conversion and the upgrade to the bathrooms (plural) needed in house 2 you have spent your £25k.

I think you are being swayed by the price, ie it is lower, rather than what it actually has to offer. Hence why most people on here are saying house 1 and why are you questioning it.

We ended up with an almost perfect house. The compromise for us was the size of the master bedroom and the teeny en-suite. No house is ever perfect. We have ploughed a lot of money into this house and it isn't just cold hard cash, it is the head space, the research, the buying of bathroom fittings etc that also takes it toll.

House 1.

Annasgirl · 13/01/2021 13:32

House no. I I cannot believe you would select the house with a North Facing small garden?

BTW - I live in house no 1 (not yours but the exact same including the old conservatory and I would urge you to knock it when you are getting any work done, we retained ours for extra room - it was a huge mistake and we now cannot get any builder to remove it as it is too small a job)

starfishmummy · 13/01/2021 13:58

[quote PerditaMacleod]@Mumdiva99 I'd be worried the sellers are on MN!! Grin

550k would be make a difference vs 575k, as we'd go into the lower LTV bracket and get a better rate, and the difference in monthly payments is not insignificant. Not huge though either.[/quote]
But it's offers in excess of 550k, so theres no guarantee it will be cheaper. If its only just come on the market again they may not be willing to agree at the low end immediately.

Original poster
PerditaMacleod · 13/01/2021 17:16

Phew! Well that turned out to be an easy decision. We are sticking with house 1.

The garden really decided it for me - tiny, we'd get the kids massive trampoline in there and there'd be no room for anything else. And for DH, there were so many little things that would need fixing, it wasn't very well maintained. It did look lovely - from a distance.

Thanks everyone!

OP posts:
Chambored · 13/01/2021 17:50

@PerditaMacleod
I’ve just spotted your name. ✅✅

Chambored · 13/01/2021 17:50

Oh, and glad your decision was easy!

Suzi888 · 13/01/2021 17:53

1 south facing garden every time!

isseys4xmastinselcats · 13/01/2021 18:48

it was still worth going to see house two as its clarified which house you want rather than spend a lot of head space thinking if only we had gone and had a look at house 2

sansou · 13/01/2021 18:59

House 1 definitely. Bigger south facing garden is worth the extra £25K. More opportunity to extend/more attractive to sell in the future. Worth the premium imo.

Original poster
PerditaMacleod · 13/01/2021 19:07

Yes it was worth going, I'm glad we did, just to rule it out. Now I need to cancel my rightmove alert so I'm not seduced by anything else!!!

OP posts:
DianaT1969 · 13/01/2021 19:45

House 1. There's no reason to see House 2.

mumsy27 · 14/01/2021 02:29

if you offer under 550 for house 2 to make it more attractive offer.
if I go with details you gave without viewing house 2.
house 1 is better.
but without viewing n2, beware of the major road at the back, traffic noise.

Mum5net · 04/02/2021 13:39

So @PerditaMacleod are you now more comfortable and settled about your decision?

Original poster
PerditaMacleod · 04/02/2021 13:58

Thank you @Mum5net - yes!

Although it actually happened again....there was a house on the market last year that I loved, and I was convinced it was the one, but we couldn't even view it because we weren't under offer then. It came back on the market last week so we went to see it, and it turned out to be nowhere near as good as it looked online.

So we're committed now, proceeding with the first house, mortgage offer received, searches underway. Need to turn my Rightmove alerts off Grin

OP posts:
KirstenBlest · 04/02/2021 14:10

Go to view House 2.

The buyer not being in a chain is just words.

Storage can be added.